Persian history

The growth of the Persian Empire under
Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius

Persians first settled on the plateau of Iran (that is the present territory
of Persia) several thousand years ago. The first evidence of them appears
in Assyrian inscription of the ninth century BC. But
the history of Persia as a great nation began in the sixth century BC
when Cyrus united the various Persian tribes
and defeated the neighboring peoples, thus building a large empire.

Persian history can be divided into two main periods. The first period starts
with the age of Cyrus and goes on until the Arab conquest in AD
651; the second begins in the year AD 651 and goes
on until the present time. In the second period Persia/Iran has been a Moslem
country.